Category Archives: Reviews

I love reading autobiographies/biographies, and was pleased that ‘Ripples From the Edge of Life’ had been recommended on one of my social media sites.

Roland Chesters’ life was turned upside down on the day he was diagnosed with AIDS. He had been feeling unwell for some time, and doctors could not find out what was wrong. However, he is not in the ‘at risk’ groups. He is gay, but is monogamous and is in a long-term relationship. He had only ever had one other relationship (also long term), but his ex-partner had undergone a blood transfusion in the days when AIDS was not widely known about…

This book charts Roland’s journey through his various medical treatments up to the present day, and we read of the thoughts and feelings of those around him; his partner Richard, his consultant, and his close friends. I for one didn’t realise that AIDS sufferers today can lead relatively normal lives while taking their retroviral medication (a shame this wasn’t available for Freddie Mercury!).

Of course the big step for anybody diagnosed with HIV/AIDS is who to tell and when to tell them. Roland knew that once that information is broadcast, there is no going back, as ripples spread far and wide as people pass on the information to others.

This book is well written and informative, and I learned a lot by reading it. Roland Chesters’ positive attitude is truly an inspiration to all those living with HIV/AIDS. I give this book 5 stars for honesty and for Roland’s bravery in writing just what it’s like to live with an AIDS diagnosis.

Over the last three weeks I have been featuring the contributors to this anthology of true and significant events. Writers share intimate and life changing events in their lives with courage and honesty whilst inspiring others.

Compiled by author Stevie Turner – the proceeds from this anthology will be going to Cancer Research and it is a very worthy cause.

Here is the link to the previous post where you can also find the link to the first posts in the series:Contributors part six

About the anthology

The following authors and bloggers answered questions posed by Stevie Turner regarding significant life experiences they had undergone. These events include sexual abuse, a near death experience, alcoholism, being diagnosed with cancer, depression, losing weight, getting married, being a mother to many children, being the daughter of a narcissistic mother, and many more!

It’s been 10 long months since Anna Fox last left her home. Ten months during which she has haunted the rooms of her old New York house like a ghost, lost in her memories, too terrified to step outside.

Anna’s lifeline to the real world is her window, where she sits day after day, watching her neighbours. When the Russells move in, Anna is instantly drawn to them. A picture-perfect family of three, they are an echo of the life that was once hers.

But one evening, a frenzied scream rips across the silence, and Anna witnesses something no one was supposed to see. Now she must do everything she can to uncover the truth about what really happened. But even if she does, will anyone believe her? And can she even trust herself?

My Review:

The book is written in the first person, which immediately brings the reader straight into the story. It’s well-written, fast-paced, and it interested me enough to stop me skipping bits to get to the end. It’s definitely a 5 star read!

Agoraphobic Anna, unwilling to venture outside because of a past trauma, consumes far more wine than she should and spends her days gazing out of her window.

One day she is visited by a new neighbour Jane Russell, but soon after this meeting Anna hears a scream. When she looks through her window at the Russells’ house, she cannot see Jane anymore, but instead another woman has taken her place.

Anna tries to inform the authorities and her therapist, but because she is more often than not drunk they dismiss her fears. Alistair tells the police she is hallucinating and that the woman never existed. However, Anna knows what she saw even though everybody around her is telling her otherwise.

Is Anna suffering from the ‘gaslighting’ effect? What happens next would give away spoilers. All I can say is that this book is is a must-read for fans of psychological suspense.

Abi is broken, having just escaped from an abusive and controlling husband. She takes a summer job at the Chateau Bellevue, hoping that a change of scene will begin to heal her emotional scars. Her employers tell her the story of Eliane and her family, who had lived at the chateau some 80 years before. Abi discovers more about herself as she learns of Eliane’s struggles during World War II.

It’s a great novel, but I didn’t really like how the two timelines run concurrently throughout the story. I think it would have been better if the author had told Eliane’s story first, and then told Abi’s, who of course comes along many years later. Timelines chop and change with each chapter, and you cannot get into Eliane’s life as on the next page you’re then thrust into Abi’s story.

Nevertheless, there are wonderful descriptive passages which took me back to a holiday I had in rural France 10 years’ ago. The romance aspect of the book could have been a bit better developed, but on the whole an enjoyable read for fans of historical WWII fiction.

Dr Beth Nichols thinks she has been held captive by Edwin Evans for about 8 or 9 years now. Amidst her grief she often looks back and thinks about her fiancé Liam. She lies awake at night staring at the one light bulb that is never switched off, and prays that Liam is still out there somewhere searching for her.

Our Review

This is an incredibly sad yet powerful, well written story.

One that will shred your nerves and try repeatedly to break your heart.

Most of us couldn’t begin to imagine what happens to Beth, or how she manages to cope with it all and remain sane.

I don’t think I would have, for simply reading this story has left scars on my emotions. You keep telling yourself it is fiction and didn’t really happen, but we know only too well that it does. This story is probably far…

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Rejection is not new, as John Keats, had he lived today, could verify. Stung by harsh criticism of his work during his short lifetime of only 25 years, the following words (not even his name) are etched on his tombstone in Rome’s Protestant cemetery:

‘This grave contains all that was mortal of a young English poet, who on his deathbed in the bitterness of his heart at the malicious power of his enemies, desired these words to be engraven on his tombstone: Here lies one whose name was writ in water. February 24th 1821.’

I only discovered this whilst reading Virginia Woolf’s ‘A Room of One’s Own’, which are essays containing the speeches she gave to students at Girton College, Cambridge in the 1920s. The main subject matter of these essays is Women and Fiction, but as you can see she does deviate somewhat…

Virginia Woolf stated that for a woman to be able to write fiction, she must have a room of her own and £500 per year, which of course was a lot of money in her time. Her aunt had left her this selfsame legacy and she had a room of her own, but she bewailed the fate of females from a lesser social class. These women were poor and controlled by men, reduced to being mere servants and childminders and had no time whatsoever to themselves and no chance of ever writing a poem, let alone a novel.

The middle classes fared rather better, although Jane Austen had no room of her own and had to hide the manuscript of Pride and Prejudice under a blotter for fear of being ridiculed. Charlotte Bronte complained of having to mend stockings when she wanted to travel all over the world. Female authors such as these met much criticism in their lifetimes and the Bronte sisters even had to publish their work using male pseudonyms to have their writing taken seriously.

Noblewomen had the time and money to write poetry, but even Lady Winchilsea was not happy writing poetry, controlled by men stopping her from doing what she wanted to do, and knowing she would be laughed at and satirised as a ‘blue-stocking’ if her poetry came to light. Noblewomen were expected just to write letters, not novels.

The essays are quite fascinating, and the book, a classic, was actually free on Amazon. The lives of women have improved now to the extent where many female authors do have their writing taken seriously, but still many are passed off as lightweight for writing about what they know… family sagas, relationships and romance.

I would agree with Ms Woolf that women do need a good income and a space for them to write in peace, ideally without domestic interruptions. Wordsworth was notorious for entering his house by the back door to avoid ‘domestic issues’. Quite often these days women, like myself, earn an income by working and writing novels in their spare time. However, women today will write whatever their circumstances if the urge takes them. Yes, many might be rejected by agents and publishers, but at least they have the strength of mind to carry on regardless.

Did a room of her own and an income of £500 per year make Virginia Woolf happy? No it didn’t; she drowned herself in 1941 after suffering another bout of mental illness. However, she left a wonderful body of work that will be read for decades to come. Do have a read of her Girton essays if you have some peace in a room of your own! A recommended 5 star read.

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They say that every now and then it’s a good idea to get out of your comfort zone and do something you’ve never done before. Dawne Archer certainly did this, when she and an old school friend decided to sign up for a trek across the Sahara Desert to raise funds for Thrombosis UK. Dawne has Factor V Leiden, which means she is more susceptible to blood clots/ deep vein thrombosis, having inherited the gene from both parents (her father died from a blood clot to the lung). She had already suffered a life-threatening thrombosis in her twenties, but now in her fifties she also has other health issues that made her wonder whether in reality she would be able to complete the trek.

With the health problems Dawne had at the time, I would never have even contemplated such an arduous task, but this lady had true grit and a grim determination not to let down her sponsors (all proceeds of the book’s sale go to Thrombosis UK). She and her friend set off with a support team and other more experienced trekkers to discover just what it’s like to walk across the shifting sands of the Sahara Desert in broiling heat. Whether or not she completed the trek you will have to find out for yourself, but the writing is such that you can imagine yourself actually there in amongst the heat, sand, scorpions, blisters, and the endless desert vista stretching for mile after sandy mile.

A recommended 5 star read. Kudos to Ms Archer for having the guts to do something as strenuous as this!

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It’s nice to read about a rock star who is down-to-earth, kind, shy and generous. Mick Ronson, guitarist extraordinaire, was all of these things according to his friends and family – just a northern boy from Hull who happened to have a great talent and was in the right place at the right time.

Weird and Gilly took 5 years to interview Mick’s family, friends and ex band members. The book is a bit tedious in places with copious details about band break-ups and gigs performed, and I’d rather have read more about Mick’s life as a son, father, husband and brother. However, there were a few funny stories, especially the time when Mick, sunburnt and sore, decided to go for a swim in a chlorine-filled pool. He’d just dyed his hair platinum blond, but the chlorine reacted with the dye and turned his hair green. That coupled with his red sunburnt body caused must have caused many strange looks at the time!

The common denominator to all these successful musicians is obviously an exceptional talent, and much motivation and desire to make music their chosen career. Mick’s mother noticed his talent even at the age of 2, but as with many families his strict father wanted him to get a ‘proper job’, causing much bad feeling between them. Having raised two sons myself, I realised some time ago that we have to let our children seek their own paths in life. Mick tried his hand at being a mobile grocer and also a gardener to try and please his father, but it was inevitably to music that he would eventually turn.

I never did get to see Mick play live with David Bowie, and he died too early from liver cancer in 1993 at the age of only 46. However, friends and family paid tribute to his positive outlook, lack of complaining, and his certainty that he would beat the illness. His wife is also writing a book about him, and I look forward to reading it.

I’ve given this book 3 stars.

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I always enjoy Jim’s farming stories, as he has a way of telling a tale that is entertaining but informative at the same time. I’ve learned a lot about sheep, cattle and working dogs while reading this book, and always wondered how on earth a sheepdog learns to do what it does – but I know now that a new dog will learn from an old one as well as from his master.

There were a few chuckles too, particularly at how Jim dealt with unwanted salespeople. There were a couple of shocks regarding how the price of cattle has decreased over the years, and also sadly how the number of UK dairy farms has dropped from 196,000 in 1950 to about 10,000 now.

Jim has spent his whole life farming and has acquired a wealth of knowledge, some of which he shares in this delightful book. I have given it 5 stars. Do check it out the free preview below:

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Dr Theodore Dalrymple is a very witty man, averse to committees, legal jargon, social workers, prisoners, and tattoos. To earn his living he meters out advice and prescriptions in inner-city London to Britain’s uneducated and tattooed underclass, of which he has a healthy disdain for. This blackly humorous book could be viewed by some as depressing, but in my opinion it shouldn’t be read in public because it could cause sudden outbursts of laughter, the kind that makes you the unwelcome object of attention on a train for instance.

This doctor is rather world-weary. He’s seen it all and nothing surprises him. Here’s a little taster from Amazon:

“One day a man came to consult me.
He was extremely large – what failed dieters call ‘big-boned’ – and very fat. He lost no time in telling me he was diabetic.
‘Do you smoke?’ I asked.
‘Like a chimney,’ he replied.
He was completely unrepentant, so refreshingly different from all those snivelling wheedlers with hangdog expressions who give you a long story about how they nearly gave up but then their budgerigar died. I got the picture at once.
‘And of course, you drink like a fish,’ I said.
‘Like a fish,’ he replied.
‘Dieting is out of the question?’ I continued, with mounting admiration.
‘Completely, I love butter and cream, and meat with fat on it, and rich sauces.’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘I’m sure you know the risks better than I, so I’m not going to lecture you. But if you invite me to dinner, I shall come.’

5 stars from me, and thoroughly recommended for those who enjoy darkly humorous books. These stories are true too, which in my opinion makes it even better!